Just Another Step
by IcexRayen
Summary: She is a young genin, one of the members of Squad 11 under the teachings of the Leaf's Electro Master. She follows her own icy path to becoming a great ninja. She and her other teammates all have connections with the Sand Village. What will she decide to do when she meets an old friend? "Huh? That redheaded kid? The one with the panda eyes? Yeah, I got a picture of him."
1. Chapter 1: Enter Katsuko!

**Naruto has ended today. I applaud Kishimoto for bringing such a wonderful story to this world and kept at it for 15 years~! **

**This man _DESERVES_ a break, don't you think?**

**I Do Not Own Naruto. (I don't have the best summary in the world, it's late, I wanted to post this. I'll make some changes later.)**

* * *

><p>Eh, Saturday mornings are the best. I don't need to wake up early to go the Academy, I can just stay in bed and snuggle into my pillows without a worry in world. And nothing, and I SAY NOTHING. Will ever make me get outta this comfy bed!<p>

_**Creeaak.**_

"Katsuko, we're eating."

_**step, step, step...**_

Except for that.

Immediately, I threw the sheets off my body and hastily threw my legs over my bed. My feet landed on the wooden floor with a soft thud, I could feel the cold feeling from the floor through my socks. Ah, such a nice sensation!

Without wasting another second, I ran out of my room and into the kitchen. The moment I arrived, I let myself slide across the floor.

However, I lost balance and fell.

"Katsuko! What are you doing?!" My mother looked down at me like I was crazy.

"Sliding. What's for breakfast~?"

* * *

><p><span><strong>Enter Katsuko!<strong>

**Katsuko Igarashi**

**Age 12, Academy Student**

* * *

><p>I ate the noodles my mother made slowly, savoring the taste of this amazing gift without rush. As I kept eating my food, I suddenly remembered something. I swallowed my food and waved my hand at my mother. Whose name by the way was Hoshiki Igarashi.<p>

She gave me a look that said 'what?'.

"Next week, is the graduation test!"

"Then you better start practicing your jutsus then."

"Yeah, I know!" I gave her an exasperated sigh, for some reason, I always dislike it when my mother tells me stuff like that.

I finished the rest of my noodles and picked up my glass of mango juice. "Where's dad?"

"Out."

"Like always, every saturday." I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

My mother looked at me with a questioning look, "Weren't you going to go out today? With Shikamaru?"

"Shoot! You're right! And it's almost time!"

* * *

><p>Katsuko looked at herself in the mirror to check her hair, only for a few seconds though. Unlike most girls her age, she didn't waste half an hour in front of the mirror trying to fix her hair. She looked at her clothing and flattened it out so that there were no wrinkles or anything. She was wearing your typical blue sandals, and some everyday clothes. Some black pants, a gray t-shirt and an azure long sleeved vest. Once she was sure she was ready, she raced down the stairs and bolted outside, into the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village. Normally, she would spend any free time at home and stay still like a lazy potato on the couch. But this time it was different, she wanted to do something more fun for a change since their graduation was next week. That would mean less time to hang with close friends and more hardcore training for being a ninja!<p>

Speaking of friends, the friends she had closest to her were guys apparently. It was probably because of her different interests, other girls shopped for pretty clothes, she shopped for t-shirts and sweaters. They talked about boys they liked, she talked about the flaws of the person they liked. Katsuko honestly felt out of place, in that kind of crowd. Hinata and Ino were the girls she befriended more easily. But Hinata scored more points than Ino.

Ino told her a lot of times, if she wanted to fit in, she could change.

But, what would that do?

Aren't people supposed to accept you for WHO YOU ARE?

If they didn't, then that would probably mean they weren't meant to be friends with you.

So, as a result. She turned towards the guys, who accepted her for who she was. She befriended Shikamaru (who was lazy like her) which then made her befriend Choji and Naruto, and it just kept going. She honestly wouldn't care if most of her friends were guys, or how girls whispered behind her back saying she was a tomboy. Sure she suffered her share of loneliness.

But she didn't care.

As she speed walked in the streets, she took a sharp left turn around a corner.

Only to bump into two of her academy classmates.

"_Hey!_ Be careful!"

"Hikaru, calm down. It was an accident."

Katsuko frowned, "Man, you can be such a _prick_ sometimes."

"What was that?"

Before her stood two males. The person she addressed as _prick_ was on the right, he had beige hair and light blues eyes, he was wearing a white and blue stripped t-shirt along with a short gray short sleeved vest. He wore long black pants and ended just above his ankles. The other boy on the left who seemed more kinder, had short brown hair with a pair of green eyes wore light brown pants that ended under his ankles. He was also wearing a white jacket on his gray shirt, colored green on the interior, with green stripes along the bottom and sleeve cuffs. He supported an apologetic look as Katsuko narrowed her eyes at the boy next to him.

"Wanna repeat what you said?" Hikaru, the beige haired boy dared.

"Hikaru, come on." Soramaru, the brown haired kid groaned.

Katsuko rolled her dark brown hues at him, "Well, it was nice seeing you prince charming. But I gots to hang with Shikamaru now! See ya, Hikaru, Sora!" And with that she sped off, with her black hair swishing back and forth behind her. The two males left behind merely stared at the dust she left behind her trail.

Hikaru rolled his eyes and simply continued walking. "Let's go Soramaru."

Soramaru smiled sheepishly.

* * *

><p>I climbed up a huge flight of stairs, (I was already panting the moment I reached the twentieth step! Man am I out of shape!) I finally arrived at the top after some great deal of effort.<p>

At the top, I found Shikamaru laying down under some shade while looking at the clouds. With a happy grin, I walked over to him and looked at him upside down.

"Hey there!"

"Eh, you finally made it. Took ya long enough." He let out a yawn.

"Hehe."

* * *

><p><strong>Writing some Fairy Tail is nice, but sometimes I get the urge to write something else once in a while~<strong>

**(This story was planned the moment chapter 698 came out! :D)**


	2. Chapter 2: Remembrance

**I Do Not Own Naruto.**

* * *

><p>"Why did it take you longer than usual to get here?" Shikamaru asked me after a moment of watching clouds. I turned my head towards him while he merely just kept staring at the sky. Before giving my answer, I covered my mouth as a yawn escaped my lips. I looked back at the sky with a lazy look. Haha, Shikamaru must be rubbing off on me! I've been around him for way to long!<p>

"I bumped into mister Shirokawa and Natsui."

"Hikaru and Soramaru?"

"Yep." Popping the 'p' unnecessarily. "Hikaru was being a prick."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "He can be so troublesome."

"Pft, why don't you tell me something I don't know."

Shikamaru merely shrugged and continued staring at the clouds with small interest.

...

...

...

As I stared at the sky that shared itself with other villages I couldn't help but think how the graduation day was already arriving...

It was so soon.

Man time flies...

* * *

><p><em>I stood next to my mother while holding my folder, I was nervously fidgeting with the folder that contained all my information. My face remained calm but my hands said otherwise. Unlike the other kids waiting at the front, I was further away next to my mother. The only child who didn't go in the front like the other kids.<em>

_My mother, was talking with some old friends._

_I sighed and looked at the ground. My fidgeting had stopped, when was this teacher going to come out and take us in already?_

_"Katsuko."_

_I looked back at my mom. What I noticed most about the woman she was talking to was the distinctive red fang markings on their cheeks. She looked... kinda scary?_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Why don't you go now I bet they're going to call in the kids soon."_

_"Ah... b-but..." I quickly tried making up an excuse on the spot._

_"She doesn't want to be here?" The lady next to my mom asked._

_"No, Tsume. She's just shy."_

_"Haha! She needs to toughen up."_

_I scowled at my mother for saying so bluntly. "Fine! I'm going!" I stomped away a little peeved._

_"I think you made her angry."_

_"Nah."_

_Was all I heard._

_However. once I got close enough to the crowd. Immediately felt left out, everyone seemed to be already talking with other kids. I was the only one who was alone, man this sucks. However, as I kept looking around I noticed this blonde haired kid... he looked kinda... grumpy? But yet, I saw another kind of feeling on him that I couldn't seem to figure out._

_"Alright kids! Come forward and hand over you folders, then proceed into the Academy!"_

_I heard one of the teachers, but I kept secretly looking at the boy while I walked. So, as I kept staring at him I accidentally bumped into someone's back. Snapping out of it, I frantically looked at the person I bumped into. It was boy, he had this lazy look on his face._

_I shut my eyes. "Sorry!" Oh gawd, how embarrassing!_

_However after a moment of silence, I peaked at the person hoping they weren't upset or anything. But no, in fact he just shook his head. "It's alright, it was an accident right? No harm done here. So no problem."_

_With that, he turned around and went towards the man asking for the folders. He handed his and went inside the Academy._

_Well, that wasn't too bad. He seems nice._

* * *

><p><em>"Now then, these might be your seats for the time being. Now, I'll be right back." Iruka sensei said before hastily leaving the classroom.<em>

_When we all handed in our folders, a couple of students were told to follow Iruka. He brought us into a classroom and chose our seats for us. And I don't know why, I was stuck somewhere cornered by boys. I was sitting next to the wall, beside me were Shikamaru and next to him was Choji. That Shikamaru guy was apparently that kid I bumped into earlier. Then behind me was a kid with a small dog. I think his name was Kiba? The rest next to him, I didn't quite catch their names. All I knew is that I was stuck in a corner with boys. That didn't bother me unless they start annoying me..._

_The moment Iruka sensei left the classroom, everyone began chattering with each other. As for me, I didn't know what to do. So, using a paper I decided to draw with my pencil. Thing is, when I get bored I tend to draw stuff to feed my boredom. As I kept drawing the face of my person in my drawing, I noticed some blonde hair running down to the classroom's door. Slowly shifting my eyes upwards without moving my head, I realized that it was the blonde haired kid I was staring at this morning at the entrance. He was chuckling, I slowly turned my head and glanced at my surroundings to see if I was the only one staring at him. Turns out most of the boys in my class were looking at him, most of the girls kept drooling over at that one kid over there, the one with black hair._

_I rolled my eyes and looked back at this blonde kid. He somehow grabbed a chair and placed a chalkboard eraser at the top of the door. So that when Iruka opens it, the erase would land on his head, decorating his hair in white dust._

_I lowered my pencil and leaned my cheek into the palm of my hand. I was actually curious to see what happens next._

_That blonde kid quickly hid away the chair and ran up to his seat. People who witnessed this , patiently waited for Iruka sensei to come back. It didn't take very long that's for sure._

_"Okay, I'm back now-"_

_It landed on his head._

_"HAHAHAHA! You fell for it Iruka sensei!"_

_Half of the class started laughing at this display. Even I had to admit, his reaction was pretty funny. I covered my mouth to suppress any laughs from coming out._

_Iruka sensei angrily grabbed the chalkboard erase, which landed on the floor after falling on his head, then began to furiously shake it towards the blonde haired kid. "NARUTO! THIS IS THE FIRST DAY! AND YOU'RE ALREADY PULLING THESE STUPID PRANKS?!"_

_"Yep! You should have seen your face!"_

_"NARUTOOO!"_

_I grinned and continued my drawing._

_Naruto huh? So that's his name._

_That day was a Friday, it was merely an orientation day for students._

* * *

><p><em>Every time there was school, I would arrive early. Only a few kids were there every time I showed up and there was only these two students that arrived EXACTLY on the same time as me.<em>

_Hikaru Shirokawa and Soramaru Natsui._

_I guess it's a habit we have. Turns out that The clans Igarashi, Shirokawa, Natsui and Orihara are somehow like 'cousins'. My clan has always had ties with these three other clans and we work well together because of our long history and types of chakras._

_My mom told me I should try and get along with them, since there was probably a high chance I would be teamed up with them for something. And also because I use to play with them when I was younger. But I was too shy to approach them, it was either they spoke to me or we didn't speak at all. And anyway, they seemed to be having a good time together considering how well they got along, I would probably bore them to death with my shy silence._

* * *

><p><em>As a female student, I had to attend kunoichi classes, the teachers taught us culture and and skills such as flower arranging, it was supposed to help us in real missions that required blending in infiltration missions.<em>

_..._

_..._

_..._

_I was in class drawing on my paper as the teacher talked about today's assignment. Man they were totally blind, I'm drawing right in front of them and they rarely scold me! ... Probably because I'm always hiding my paper and pretending I wasn't doing anything._

_"Alright class, the sheets I gave you are going to be your work for today. You can do it in teams of two or three."_

_Teams?_

_My eyes darkened at that word, I pushed away my drawing and grabbed my work. I didn't even bother looking for anyone to partner up with, after all no one has ever asked me to team up with them. Even when I look at them, they merely smile at me and start searching for a partner. But whatever, it's not like I'm going to complain anyway. Tch, my last partner only wanted my answers, she didn't even help with anything and I did all the work!_

_I began writing on my paper with a unamused look, I'll just get this over with and I can continue drawing. Still... sometimes I would still be hurt by the fact that no one would want to partner up with me._

_"Katsuko? You're not teaming up with anyone?" The teacher asked me._

_I shook my head._

* * *

><p><em>When it was lunch time, I would hurry to go get my lunch, which my mother prepared and head outside to eat. We had an hour to eat before heading back to class.<em>

_I quickly grabbed my lunch and went outside, I went to go sit somewhere where it was quiet and I could be alone. Yep, alone. I was getting used to that feeling now, it hurt but I endured it. But I guess I'm also part of the blame for being alone... Being shy was one of the things that got in my way most of the time..._

_I opened my lunch and started eating my sandwich, slowly chewing on my food as the birds chirped outside on trees. I leaned back on my seat and closed my eyes, letting the cool breeze sway my bangs in front of my face._

_"U-U-Um... K-Katsuko...?"_

_My eyes shot open._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_To my surprise, the timid Hinata stood before me with her lunch in her hands. I instantly sat up straight with great curiosity, "H-Hinata! What are you doing here? Don't you at home?"_

_She shyly began tapping her index fingers on her box lunch, "Y-Yes, but I was wondering if I could eat with you... Is it okay if I do?"_

_On the outside I nodded and made some space for the young Hyuga. But on the inside I was jumping up and down happily. As she settled down next to me she began opening her box lunch, and I couldn't help but ask._

_"So, Hinata! Any specific reason why you chose to eat with me?" I asked with a grin, then suddenly a thought came to mind, a thought that didn't please me. However my grin did not falter, "Or do you need help with some homework that the teachers gave us?"_

_"O-Oh! No, it's nothing liked that! I just... I wanted to keep you company! You're always alone and..." Hinata's sentence faltered._

_This kind soul wouldn't lie..._

_My grin widened, "Thank you Hinata, I appreciate it. Really."_

_I was grateful to Hinata for keeping me company during lunch times. Sure she couldn't always make it because her father expected her to eat at home, but that gesture was enough to make me feel less lonely._

* * *

><p><em>"Alright for your assignment, you'll be working in teams of two! That goes for you two, Sasuke and Katsuko! No working alone this time." Iruka said before taking a seat in his chair and waited for us to team up and finish our work.<em>

_"Hn."_

_"Tch!"_

_Yeah, Sasuke prefered working alone since his stupid fangirls would always ask him._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Who am I supposed to pair up with? I glanced around the classroom in search of a partner, the first person who came to mind was Hinata. But the moment I laid my eyes on her, she was already with another student..._

_Well, there goes my choices... er choice. I let out a sigh and patiently waited for the last person available so I could just team up with them and finish the work. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my seat._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_"Hey."_

_I lazily opened my eyes and looked in direction of the owner's voice, I wonder who it is... I hope it's not a Sasuke fangirl, I don't wanna deal with a Sasuke convo right now._

_My eyes widened a bit. It wasn't a fangirl... It was that kid who sits next to me, his name was Shikamaru. The same kid I bumped into before on the first day!_

_He scooted closer to me and brought his paper along with him. "Do you mind if I pair up with you? I don't wanna get up, and you're the closest person right now." He asked with a lazy expression._

_I sweat dropped. I shrugged, "Okay." Man was this guy always lazy? I mean, I even see him sleeping in class sometimes! He'd rather take a nap than do work._

_"Alright, let's get this over with." He said before letting a loud yawn escape his lips. As I watched him yawn, I suddenly felt like yawning, I hastily turned away and covered my yawn behind my hand. As soon as I was done yawning, I turned back and blinked a couple of times to push away the small tears. Man this guy is effective!_

_"You wanna start now?"_

_I blinked. Huh? Did I hear that right?_

_"Huh? What?"_

_He raised an eyebrow, "I asked if you wanted to start?"_

_"No... I heard you... it's just, don't you normally... sleep instead of working?"_

_He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, but my mom keeps nagging on me. She's pretty peeved about the fact I keep sleeping in class. But I guess I should DO something once in a while."_

_"Oh." I nodded. "And uh... sorry about bumping into you before..."_

_He blinked twice, he used his hand to dismiss, "I told you, it was alright."_

_He was the first. The first to team up with me in class. Not just once, but most of the time. Slowly, little by little, I started getting more comfortable that I started acting less shy around the Nara kid. Hell, I didn't even realize it until he told me._

* * *

><p><em>"Then he really did!" I told Shikamaru while chuckling. He grinned at my story and leaned his head on the palm of his head. We finished our work early, so we just talked while waiting for the rest of the class to finish.<em>

_"Hey, slow down. You talk fast you know."_

_"Oh, sorry!"_

_"Well, at least you're more talkative now."_

_I blinked twice. "I am." I tilted my head._

_Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah, usually you're quiet. But now you talk more. Probably because you're always alone... Yeah why are you always alone?"_

_I looked away and shrugged, I started drawing circles on the wooden surface. "... I'm just too shy and stuff, and the other girls don't seem to like my kind of personality... Except for Hinata-"_

_He groaned loudly, cutting me off. I jerked my eyes back at him in surprise, "Hey! You cut me off!"_

_"Well, I don't wanna hear it anymore."_

_I rolled my eyes, I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat. "Hmph, well! If you were to lazy to hear me talk, why did you even ask?!" Man, what's wrong with him? If he didn't wanna hear it, he shouldn't of asked!_

_Shikamaru crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on it lazily. "Now you're just making wild assumptions. You know if you needed someone to hang with all you needed to do was ask me. You really need to get rid of that inferiority complex."_

_Inferiority complex... _

_Am I really?_

_You don't know how grateful I was to Shikamaru for giving out the hand I really needed. It was thanks to him I started coming out of my shell and became more talkative and open with people. Other kids and class and even those two guys Hikaru and Soramaru._

* * *

><p>Just like any other day with Shikamaru, Katsuko and him spent the day being lazy while conversing about things to come and how troublesome they might be when they come. After spending the entire afternoon with him, she decided to stop by the barracks before heading back home. It wasn't a big one, just a small barracks that belonged to the clans, Orihara, Shirokawa, Igarashi and Natsui. Just like the clans Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka, the four of them have always worked together and protected each other because of a pact that was formed a long time ago. And this promise has been kept up till this day, strong as ever. The barracks served as a place to rest, train and other stuff. It was like another house for the members of those four clans. There have been countless times when Katsuko faced off against Hikaru and Soramaru in the barracks, and there will definitely be more times to come.<p>

As Katsuko arrived at her destination, she looked up at the big brown door that served as the door to the yard of the barracks. With a shrug, she jumped on top of the door and landed on the other side without caring how weird it may have looked. Her feet landed on the solid ground of the barracks' yard.

_Hmm, place seemed empty..._

Katsuko's eyes widened once she felt a kunai heading her way from her left. With a gasp, she quickly reacted by jumping away in fright. She stared at the kunai, which now was pinned at a wall. She twitched in annoyance knowing full well who did it. She spun around and growled at the person responsible and pointed at the kunai behind her.

"HEY! What's the big idea Hikaru?!"

The beige haired male, standing a couple feet away from her, snorted and looked away while shoving his hands in his pockets. "Learn how to use a door."

"Still, you could have said that in the first place instead of throwing that kunai at her." Another voice spoke. Katsuko looked at the owner of the voice with a frown, she was at least glad she wasn't stuck with Hikaru alone. A kinder soul than Hikaru waved at her from the entrance of the small building. His brown hair ruffled slightly with his repeated movements.

Hikaru and Katsuko both approached Soramaru and took a seat next to him. Soramaru frowned at the beige haired male, "I mean what if you actually injured her?" Katsuko nodded in agreement while narrowing her eyes at her attacker. Who merely chucked, "I threw it because I knew she would dodge it, besides I wanted to scare her."

The female rolled her eyes and clapped her hands, "Good job! We'll give you a cookie." She said with a scowl along with a sarcastic tone. Hikaru ignored her with a smirk and stretched his arms.

They did not hate each other, it was a merely a habit from acting the way they did towards each other when they were much younger. It was after Katsuko managed to finally talk with them and become friends. She started everything by irritating him, and Hikaru was known to have a short temper so obviously they didn't get along well at first, which forced Soramaru to break them apart every time. But soon, little by little they learned to get along with each other and become close. Much to Soramaru and their parents' relief.

"So, graduation. It's close huh?" Kasuko sighed while staring at the sky. The two males hummed in acknowledgement, they were so close from graduating from the Ninja Academy and so close to becoming a real ninja with their leaf headbands.

Soramaru's eyes widened, he jerked his head towards the female next to him with an open mouth and his index finger in the air. "Soon. you're heading to Sand Village, right?"

Katsuko froze for a moment, "Oh yeah, every two years... and I'm twelve... you're right. Hikaru, when are you going? I know it's this year too."

The male shrugged, "Probably the same time as you."

Katsuko faked a frown, "Ugh, wonderful. Traveling with you makes everything better!"

Hikaru glared at her, "Shut up!"

* * *

><p>Days passed, and the graduation day finally came. Almost everyone passed their exams, Naruto wasn't able to due to the fact he wasn't able to do a Clone Justsu properly. He was the only student to fail out of all the students. Katsuko passed the test of graduation as if it was an everyday thing. Too easy for someone like her, and so after the test they were all dismissed for the rest of the day and were told to present themselves back at the Academy the next day.<p>

So, after the class dismiss, Katsuko went home with her new leaf headband. She kept playing around with it in her hands as she walked home, she had no idea where to put it. Forehead was out of the question, she didn't like the idea of having some fabric sticking to her when she's sweating. She really didn't know where to put it. She hadn't realized how long she was thinking about it for since she arrived home without even noticing. Staring up at her home, she shrugged and took out her keys. She shoved the proper key into the keyhole and turned it, unlocking it. While humming to herself, she turned the doorknob and entered her home, kicking off her shoes and setting them on the side. She glanced at the clock, it was only lunch time.

Ah, she could probably just bore herself to death since her parents were busy. Mom at the hospital since she had no mission, dad on his own mission. She sighed, it always pretty lonesome. She went to her room, immediately tossing her keys on her bed and changed into some normal house clothes. She never went outside after coming home from the Academy and she wasn't going to start now that was a ninja. Haha, old habits die hard, as they say.

_DING DONG._

Katsuko raised an eyebrow, who be there right when she came home. She hastily hurried to the door without caring about her appearance. When she held the door knob, her expression turned blank, expressing nothing. She opened her door to see who it was.

...

...

...

"Hello Katsuko."

"Kakashi?"

There stood Kakashi Hatake with a smile behind that always present mask. He lifted a hand to wave at the young graduate. Katsuko couldn't help but stare at his navy blue mask of his, she had never seen him without it! What was this man hiding?!

"You're home already? Huh, class ended earlier than usual."

"Uh, yeah... So why are you here?" She asked while staring at him with that blank stare of hers. The silvered haired jonin reached for his back pocket and pulled out three envelopes, mail from the looks of it.

"I seem to have to gotten these. However they came to the wrong address." Kakashi smiled sheepishly while giving it out to her, Katsuko blinked and took the envelopes sneaking a peek at the senders. Without a care in the world, she carelessly tossed them towards the living room after confirming who they were from. She watched as they fell scattered across the floor, she looked back at the adult at her door like nothing happened.

Kakashi sweat dropped.

Katsuko smiled, "Thanks for giving them to the right house."

"No problem. See ya." Kakashi disappeared swiftly before her eyes could even blink. Katsuko raised an eyebrow, all these jonins keep doing that...

Kastuko closed her front door and went back to her room to keep herself busy until her parents came home.

Katsuko was acquainted with the Copy Ninja since her mother knew him when she was younger.

* * *

><p>Wake up at five forty-eight, then take a shower.<p>

Get out of the shower at six forty-four, taking all the time I wanted.

Eat at six-fifty once I was done getting dressed.

Then finally prepare to leave at seven thirty-five and probably wait in class for thirty minutes. It was a habit I had, get to school early and you'll never be late.

I slipped on my shoes and tapped my foot on the floor to make it comfortable. I tugged the sleeves of my blue sweater and reached for the doorknob of the front door.

"Katsuko! Your headband!"

I stopped suddenly, I raised an eyebrow. Man, forgetting the important thing that proved my graduation, I'm stupid. I turned around, "Mom, where is it?"

She looked at me from the kitchen and motioned a finger to my left, towards the living room. "You left it near the pictures!"

"Thanks!"

Immediately, I rushed towards the living room and went to the shelf that held pictures. I found my headband next to a blue picture frame. I took my headband and stopped for a moment to remember what kind of memory held this picture in its blue frame. With my free hand I picked up the object and looked closer.

A picture of a younger version of me stood next to a small boy who looked shyly at the camera with a small smile. He had red hair and sea foamed colored eyes, with these black rings around them. Judging from the background and the clothes he was wearing, it was during a time when I visited the Sand Village.

...

...

...

Yeah, I remember him.

The kid I befriended at the age of six, but was never able to find him again when I visited the Village when I was eight and ten.

What was his name again?

Oh right.

**Gaara.**

I shrugged before setting down the picture frame. I shoved my headband in my pocket and quickly said goodbye to my mother before heading out.

I doubt I'll meet him again this year.

* * *

><p><strong>Gaaah... Finally I'm active again! Exams... November... WHYYY?!<strong>

**(Those who have read Chapter 1 before this update will realize I changed the name Makoto to Soramaru as well as Katsuko's last name.)**

**Anyway! I've prepared two chapters for this recent update! Hope you enjoy them!**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Squad Eleven!

**I Do Not Own Naruto.**

* * *

><p>I entered the Academy with my hands in my sweater pockets. The steps echoed in the hallway with every step I took, I turned my head and stopped next to a large window. I frowned at how the sun was barely showing itself, it was early. Ahh, why I do I always have the urge to come early when I know I'll be just wasting time for twenty or thirty minutes? I shook my head and continued walking to my classroom, taking my time getting there. I mean it's not like anyone was waiting for me there. I stopped once I faced the door, as I reached for it I felt movements behind it.I foresaw the door opening so I quickly leaned back from it. The person who opened it took a large stride forward and suddenly stopped when they came close to my face. I was staring at widened light blue eyes that expressed surprise. It was Hikaru. Way too close for comfort, we both backed away in embarrassment with a tint of red on our cheeks. Whew, we would have headbutted each other if he didn't stop!<p>

"Gah, sorry." Hikaru furrowed his eyebrows with a scowl. He shoved a hand in his pants pocket and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. Hm, I wonder why Hikaru was here earlier than me. Normally, I would arrive first and he would arrive two minutes right after.

"It's alright. No harm done. So, where you heading?" I asked curiously. Hikaru shrugged, he lowered his hand from his neck and pointed to his right. "I'm just going to the bathroom. You can sit with Soramaru, I'll be back soon." He said before heading off with a wave.

I watched his figure walk away from me. Heh, I guess waiting won't be boring this time.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Squad Eleven!<strong>

**Katsuko Igarashi, Hikaru Shirokawa, Soramaru Natsui**

**Age 12, Genins**

* * *

><p>Soon enough more kids came into the classroom, including Naruto. I was wondering why he was here, I mean didn't he fail? Or did he blackmail Iruka? Nah, I think Naruto was able to pass when we all left. Who knows.<p>

After Shikamaru came in class, I took a seat next to him at the top, and left Hikaru and Soramaru.

I kept spinning the metallic surface of my headband on the table with my right hand while my left supported my head. I _still_ had no idea where to put my headband. I sighed with boredom.

"You didn't put your headband on yet?" Shikmaru spoke.

I blinked then looked at him and he was looking at me with one of his eyebrows raised. I looked back down at my headband and shrugged, "I don't know where to put it. I'll decide where to put it later. Right now, I just wanna wait for Iruka sensei to appear-"

"I'M FIRST!"

I paused my sentenced once two obnoxious voices entered the class. Shikamaru lazily shifted his eyes towards the noise makers. Ino and Sakura, of course them and their stupid everlasting rivallary for SASUKE~! Bleh, makes me wanna barf up my breakfast ON THEM. Me and Shikamaru followed Sakura with our eyes, she was making her way towards Naruto and Sasuke's place.

"Hey Sakura!"

"Move it!" She carelessly knocked Naruto off his seat. And stared at Sasuke like nothing happened, acting all 'cute'.

"Good morning Sasuke." Sakura said with her hands clasped in front of her. The last Uchiha merely glanced at her with no interest. I rolled my eyes and yawned into my sleeve. Like always, Sasuke paid no attention to her and went back to staring in front of him, but somehow Sakura didn't get the message that he wasn't interested and continued to flap her gums.

"Mind if I sit next to you?"

I groaned and let myself dramatically fall on Shikamaru. Who groaned lazily in protest at the new weight on him. Soon enough almost all the girls were arguing about who would sit next to Sasuke and who wouldn't, depending on who arrived first.

I swear, the only interesting thing that happened today was the fact that Naruto kissed Sasuke by accident.

* * *

><p>In the Hokage's office, many jonin and chunin gathered around the Hokage's table and watched the crystal ball before them present the graduating students in the classroom. While the female graduates bickered amongst themselves, the crystal ball showed two males talking to each other, a beige haired boy and a brown haired one.<p>

"These two boys... They're from one of the Four Promised Clans, aren't they?" Asuma guessed.

A beautiful jonin with black hair and red eyes watched them carefully. "Hikaru Shirokawa and Soramaru Natsui." Her eyes slowly wandered towards the male jonin standing next to her on her left. He was nibbling on a lollipop, his black hair tilted and covered his left purple eye. The man was taking a good look at the two boys.

Hikaru pointed at the girls arguing about a seat and scoffed. Soramaru rolled his eyes and paid no attention. Soon the attention moved to Shikamaru and Katsuko who were bored out of their minds.

The man next to Kurenai lowered his lollipop and let a mischievous grin spread on his lips.

"That girl, I heard she was one of the best of the graduates." A jonin spoke.

"Yes, from the Igarashi clan."

Kakashi watched Katsuko yawn behind her sleeve once again, then slowly looked at the other jonin who went back to nibbling his candy. "Yukio, what do you think?"

Yukio looked at Kakashi with a grin.

* * *

><p>"As of today you are all ninjas, to get here you faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing, what comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only Genin, first level ninjas. All the Genin will be grouped into three man squads, each squad will led by a Jonin, an elite ninja."<p>

Three man squads huh?

I glanced at Sakura, who was glaring at Ino behind her. For the love of god, do not put me with her. I grimaced at the thought of having Sakura on my team... Gah, even worse, if I was in a team with Sasuke and Sakura, I'd be in hell! I shook my head, hoping my luck wasn't that bad!

I looked at Shikamaru, who was supporting that bored expression on his face while listening to Iruka sensei. I would _really_ like to be on Shikamaru's team...

And from what Iruka just said, teams are set up based on balance, strengths and abilities. Ugh, someone with my grades shouldn't be with someone as lame as fan girls though, but unfortunately that wasn't my choice.

"Squad Seven."

I blinked back to reality.

...

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno-"

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE-!

"-And Sasuke Uchiha."

THANK GOD.

"Next, Squad Eight. Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame."

Ohh, they seem like a decent good match up!

"Ahhrgh, how did you get in his squad?!" Ino narrowed her eyes at Sakura with a peeved air surrounding her. Me and Shikamaru slowly turned our heads to look at fuming Yamanaka.

"I don't get, what do you see in a guy like that? He's not so special." Shikamaru asked while closing his eyes.

"True." I let out a heavy sigh.

"You two are so beyond clueless! Don't you get it?"

"No, I don't get it because I'm not a girl."

"And I don't get it even though I AM a girl."

Ino sighed, she understood why I had no idea why I didn't get. Answer was simple, I don't like Sasuke. "You are so full of yourself, jealousy is a terrible thing, I'd hate to be on your squad." She said referring to the young Nara next to me.

I waved my index in the air, "Careful, don't jinx it."

"Now Squad Ten. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara-"

Ino gasped.

"Hah! Did you say something about hating to be on my squad?"

Ino merely growled in response.

"And Choji Akimichi."

I grinned at Ino's trouble face as she held her head. What? She didn't like being surrounded by boys or what? _Ah_, I just realized I won't be with Shikamaru...  
>Instantly, I hugged him causing him to yelp in surprise. He tried prying me off but I kept holding him, "I guess this is goodbye...!" I lifted a finger and traced a fake tear down my cheek. I smirked once I saw him roll his eyes, I released him, much to his content.<p>

"Relax, you'll be fine with your squad."

I guess he knew I was being nervous about not being with him.

"And finally, Squad Eleven. Katsuko Igarashi, Hikaru Shirokawa and Soramaru Natsui."

Ah, why am I not surprised?

* * *

><p>Katsuko parted with her new squad after speaking with Kiba, Shikamaru, Naruto AND HINATA. Trying to stall them just a little by asking what was their first impressions on their squads. She wanted to have at least one more laid back talk with them before starting her training with her new squad.<p>

Katsuko, Hikaru and Soramaru went on the roof of the Academy to eat their lunch. Iruka told them to eat their lunch and come back when it was time at the appropriate classroom to meet their new jonin who will be leading their squad.

The three of them settled down and pulled out their food and ate while talking. They didn't have any problems with each other, they were pretty close. Hikaru and Katsuko had known each other for seven years because of their parents and she got close to Soramaru around the time they both found out they had the same birthday. Actually, the three of them were born on very close days.

Katsuko took out her small sandwiches and took off the saran wrap around them, rolling the plastic into a ball she placed it on the side so she could dispose of it later. The two boys stopped eating their lunches and watched their teammate, she ate her food in not even a minute. All she did was take two giant bites! Hikaru scowled, she wiped her mouth to remove the crumbs and then took out her drink. _Seriously, she's done?_ He thought, then rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist, causing her to look at him in confusion.

"Stop." He hissed.

Katsuko frowned, "What?"

Hikaru took her drink and tossed it to Soramaru, who easily caught it with one hand. He set it aside and returned his attention back to the duo. Hikaru was now holding her wrist tightly just in case she got up to get her drink. She grimaced, "What do you want?"

"You can't do this now. Not when you're ninja, you need to eat properly! Not just quick bites like that!"

"What are you talking about? I'm fine!"

Soramaru sighed, "Katsuko, you can't eat stuff like that anymore. I know you don't like having to spend your time eating because of your inferiority complex, which by the way I thought you would have gotten rid of by now, you have to start eating more now."

Katsuko's face softened, she looked at the two boys' faces and then slowly at the ground. They had a point. There was two reasons why she asked her mother to make her small lunches. Her inferiority complex was the first reason, she didn't like the idea of eating with other people and that those people would look at her while she ate. It didn't make her comfortable. She was confronted by Iruka sensei a couple of times because of this. Like that one time when it was snowing, most kids preferred eating inside the school for most of the time for that season. He had found her with her jacket outside, walking, wandering around in the cold weather.

* * *

><p><em>She had finished doing her third round around the school, and was about to start her fourth...<em>

_"Katsuko!"_

_The child turned around to face her teacher who was running towards her, clumsily putting on his jacket. Iruka stopped in front of her while puffing out small air._

_"Katsuko, what are you doing out here? You shouldn't be outside! It's cold!"_

_He looked at her hands, she was holding her sandwich in them. They kept shifting from the cold weather. He narrowed his eyes and frowned, he looked back at her. "Aren't you cold?"_

_Katsuko frowned, "I used to get cold... But now I'm used to it. So, no. Not really." She replied with a sheepish grin._

_Iruka sighed, he threw on his hood. "Katsuko, come inside." The brown haired jonin placed a hand behind her back and guided her back inside the Academy. He went inside and brought her to the place where all the students gathered to eat. There were many kids. Iruka threw off his hood and smiled at her, "Now, go on and find a seat. Here you'll be warm."_

_"No, it's okay..."_

_His face immediately had surprise written on it. "Katsuko..."_

_"I... I don't want to stay here. I don't want to eat here. I'm too shy." Katsuko admitted with a shrug. No use in acting all embarrassed about it now, there was no way this inferiority complex of hers would ever go away. She just had to face it and accept eating alone for the winter._

_From that day on, Iruka repeatedly tried to make her change her mind. But it was hard, she was too stubborn. Even her mother thought she was crazy. Soon enough, she agreed to eat inside. But, she wanted to eat somewhere where she could be alone though. Iruka gave in, it was better than letting her eat outside. But sometimes she still ate outside, claiming she needed to go out to breathe._

* * *

><p>Her second reason was that, she didn't wanna waste her time eating. She just wanted to eat it fast and get it over with. Her mother agreed with her on that, because breakfast meals were the most important ones since it's the source of the day's energy, and she had a lot of that.<p>

She was a ninja now though. She NEEDED to eat better now.

Katsuko nodded silently before looking up at Hikaru. "Alright..."

Soramaru smiled, "Good girl!"

Hikaru smirked, he took out a pair of chopsticks and handed it to Katsuko, much to her surprise. She looked up at him and down at the chopsticks. After putting the pieces together she looked at the two boys with a scowl.

"You two planned this didn't you?!"

"Yep!" Soramaru grinned.

"Now eat." Hikaru scooted closer to her to share his lunch. Katsuko grumbled and took the chopsticks without a word. But yet, she felt thankful towards Hikaru and Soramaru for caring about her eating habits.

* * *

><p>Squad eleven sat in classroom 225, awaiting eagerly the arrival of their new jonin. The three of them were seated at a table next to each other in complete silence, merely listening to the ticking of the clock that was hung on the wall above the door. They came in early, they had problem in being patient.<p>

"Hey, Sora. What time is it now?" Hikaru asked with his face planted on the desk. He was sitting between Katsuko and Soramaru, who were looking more alive than he was right now. Soramaru looked at his left with a frown before turning his head to look at the clock.

"Don't worry, our jonin should be arriving soon. It's time."

Hikaru sat up properly while stretching his arms. "Finally." He looked at his right, and noticed how Katsuko was playing with her headband. He sighed and lowered his arms.

"Are you kidding?"

Katsuko looked up.

"You STILL don't know where to put your headband?"

Katsuko narrowed her eyes at him, taking a second to respond. "Well, I don't believe it's any of your business!"

Suddenly, they heard the classroom door open. All of them froze for an instant before sitting properly to look like they weren't doing anything. They were quite curious about how this jonin of theirs would turn out to be, perhaps by the look of their squad leader would give them an idea. The classroom door was open, but no one came in. The three of them anxiously stared at the door, waiting for this person to show themseleves.

A head of black hair poked itself in the room, showing them only back of their head. Slowly, they entered the room completely and stood tall before them. This man was the same height as Kakashi. He had black ebony hair like Katsuko and had stunning purple eyes. His leaf headband was on his forehead, however you could barely see the symbol for his bangs had covered most of his metallic plate. He was wearing the standard clothing that represented a chunin or a jonin. On the right side of his hip was a white pouch attached on him that was a size of a person's palm. The three squad members had a pretty good idea what it served for, judging by the white stick that was sticking out of his mouth.

Katsuko thought he was the kind of person who looked lazy while eating his candy and sat back to watch the fighting be done for him. Hikaru thought he looked like one of those jonins that looked laid back but held that kind of badass power. Soramaru... well he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. So, he'd just have to wait and see.

The jonin lifted his hand up to remove the lollipop from his mouth, he licked his lips before opening his mouth to speak. His purple hues were half lidded, he looked tired.

"Hello Squad Eleven, congratulations on graduating from the Ninja Academy. As of today, I will be your jonin..." He licked his lollipop, "-Now, let's head to the park."

The _park_?

* * *

><p>Katsuko, Hikaru and Soramaru sat on three swings and watched their new jonin finish up his seventh lollipop. Katsuko sweat dropped, wasn't he going to get cavities or something?<p>

Their squad leader took one last crunch before taking out the white stick and carelessly tossing it behind him. The three of them watched as the stick flew in the air, and to their surprise, it landed right in the trash can of the park! Like, whaaaat?

"Now then, let's introduce ourselves shall we? Let's see... Name, age, birthday, what you like and what you hate. Go." The jonin pointed his finger towards Soramaru. Who paused when he noticed the finger was pointing in his direction, he looked at his teammates who were staring at him then jolted in his swing.

"A-Ah! Me? O-Oh okay!" He could hear Katsuko and Hikaru chuckling next to much, much to his dismay.

"My name is Soramaru or Sora for short. Soramaru Natsui. I am twelve years old and my birthday is november twenty-one. I like spending time with my friends... Um... Well, what I hate is..." Everyone watched as Soramaru took a minute to think. Soon he shrugged, "I guess I hate crossing the desert when I head to the Sand Village."

The jonin nodded and looked at Hikaru. Who immediately answered his questions, "Name's Hikaru Shirokawa. I'm twelve, born on november twenty-two. I hate certain types of people." He hissed, "And I guess... I like using my free time to spar at the barracks."

Finally all the eyes moved towards Katsuko. Feeling somewhat pressured, she began to panic in her mind. But however showed a calm exterior to the others. Unfortunately, just like all other times she got so nervous, she could feel her arms began to sting. Then some pulsing in her knees, she already knew what this meant. Her hives were beginning to break out. Pretending she was fine, she ignored the irritation on her body and opened her mouth.

"My name is Katsuko Igarashi... I'm twelve years old. My birthday is on november twenty-one. I like spending time with friends and staying at the barracks and I hate... I don't know what I hate."

...

...

...

"Hmm, how ironic. I did not expect these kids to be born on such close days..." They heard him whisper while he unwrapped another lollipop. The three students looked at each other and shrugged. Their squad leader merely hummed to himself while digging around his pouch. Hikaru looked back at their jonin with a confused look. After all, he didn't bother introducing himself.

"Um, mister..."

"Hmm?"

"What's your name...?"

...

...

...

The black haired jonin's eyebrows shot up, he quickly removed his lollipop. He licked his lips, tasting watermelon on them. He pointed at the young graduates with his lollipop. "Sorry, you guys." He pointed his candy towards him.

"My name is Yukio Orihara."

...

The three students looked at each other in disbelief. Yukio Orihara. That was his full name?! They couldn't believe that all of the Four Promised Clans were now a team! Was this planned or was it just mere coincidence?! If it was coincidental, then that was impressive!

"I am twenty-seven, born on march seven. I like candy and I HATE two kinds of people." He smiled and held up his lollipop in front of his face, as a sign of silence. "However, those two kinds will stay a secret for now. I'll tell you if you pass the test."

Katsuko looked at Hikaru, "Test?" She mouthed. He merely shrugged and looked back at Yukio.

"Yes Katsuko. This test will decide the future of this squad. If you fail, you'll be sent back to the Academy."

_Hold up, sent back?!_

* * *

><p><strong>There we go! <strong>

**Please tell me what you think in a review! I would really appreciate it, thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Test

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**4 favs and 5 follows! Yay! Thank you! **

**I Do Not Own Naruto!**

* * *

><p>Yes, that's right. Squad Eleven will be taking a test right after their graduation! Lovely idea isn't it?Wonderful.<p>

I sighed and turned on my side as I laid in my bed. After our first meeting with our new sensei, can't say Hikaru, Soramaru and I were exactly thrilled about the test part. However, meeting Yukio sensei was something else. My first impression on the man? He wasn't bad, but he was odd. He kept eating that candy of his non stop like as if there was no tomorrow. It was weird.

"Geh, just when I thought I was test free after graduation..." I muffled through my pillow, I don't wanna do a test!

"Katsuko! Come let's eat!"

"Coming!" I lazily rolled onto my side and hopped onto my feet without sitting up. I stretched my limbs and reached for my blue sweater on the way out. At least I got something to complain about at the dinner table.

* * *

><p>It was around lunch time the next day, Yukio told them to show up at the training field without eating their lunch. They have no idea why he wanted them to do the test without eating. (It wouldn't be a problem for Katsuko since she used to eat small sandwiches at lunch, so a growling stomach isn't something that would bother her. She didn't know about the other two though.) But just as they were told, the three genins showed up at the training filed and waited for their sensei to arrive.<p>

Now that Katsuko and her team were all gathered in the field, she lazily moved her eyes towards Hikaru. On top of his black long sleeved shirt which were folded, he wore an open short sleeve red with black edges hooded jacket with a collar that covered a part of his neck along with a white sash above his waist. His leaf headband tied his open collar jacket together, the metallic side was facing the back. For pants, he had brown pants reaching to his calves, folded at the bottom, and his holster was strapped onto his right leg since he was right handed. He wore the common blue sandals, except the bottom part was black.

Katsuko's eyes slowly wandered towards her other teammate. Soramaru wore a similar looking top like Hikaru's, except it was green and white edges with no hood, no sash, but with long navy blue sleeves. And instead of having his jacket open, it was buttoned closed. He wore brown pants that were a little tight reached his calves, had his holster strapped on his left leg and the right side of his pants was shorter than the left.

Katsuko bit her lip then looked at herself, she had to stop staring at her teammates like that, she didn't know why but looking at their clothes so closely made her feel weird. On top of her gray shirt she wore a long sleeve electric blue and gray hooded jacket with gray edges and navy blue pants. She had her holster on her right leg for she was also a right handed person and her sandals were the same as her teammates.

It wasn't a long wait since Yukio had appeared in front of them only a few minutes after they arrived. At the sight of their raven haired sensei, they all stood up next to each other.

After greeting each other, Yukio lifted up two bells from his back pocket. He stared at them with an apathetic expression as he spoke. "Now the test is really easy, each of you will try and take a bell from me. That's it."

The tree genins looked at each other in confusion. But there was only two bells? He expects them to all get a bell? But how? What kind of test is that?

Noticing that they were taking time while looking at each other, Hikaru made a sign with his hand, telling them they would discuss about it later instead of asking questions. Soramaru and Katsuko nodded and looked back at the jonin in front of them. Who was patiently waiting for them to look back at him, however he was a little surprised when they didn't say anything.

Yukio raised an eyebrow, he moved his lollipop on the other side of his mouth. Odd, he would expect them to ask about the bells. This was different... His eyes wandered towards Katsuko's right pocket. There was a blue fabric hanging on the side. The black haired jonin sighed, _don't tell me she still didn't put it on_. Yukio walked over to her and stood in front of her, he reached for her headband and swiftly pulled it out of her pocket much to her surprise. The two boys next to her looked at one another with confusion once they saw their jonin walking around her and looking at her.

Katsuko just froze in place while keeping a calm face, but inside she was confused and racing many questions in her mind. Before she can open her mouth to speak, she felt a spark of static on her neck. She yelped and moved away from the source of it. Yukio looked at her with an amused look with a hand in the air.

"Haha, sorry sorry. I was simply trying to lift up your hair! Come back!" He smirked while motioning her to come back with his hand.

Feeling uneasy, she slowly walked back to him and turned around. She felt his fingers lift up her hair, then she felt him put her headband around her neck. She looked down at her leaf headband in surprise, Yukio was now tying the back so it would stay on. Once he finished his task, he moved in front of her and smiled.

"Perfect! Now we have two heads and two necks!"

Before any of them could ask, he simply pointed at his headband and Soramaru's.

Instead of having the metallic part at his forehead, Soramaru's was on his head, but it the metallic part was facing his right. Yukio's headband was on his forehead properly. While Hikaru and Katsuko had theirs on their neck, except Hikaru's was backwards.

Katsuko fumbled with her headband with her fingers. She thanked Yukio lowly, but it was loud and clear for the adult. He nodded with a grin, then spat out his lollipop stick. He unwrapped another and shoved it into his mouth.

"Well, you know what to do! Oh, and if you take too much time I'll be the one coming to you. Scatter!"

The three of them immediately jumped away and into the trees.

* * *

><p>The three of them ran into the forest together, deciding they shouldn't split up in this test for the time being. After many jumping and running, they finally found a spot suitable for hiding the three of them. It wasn't too close but it wasn't too far either, it was a good enough hiding spot that showed an almost perfect sight of their sensei. They were laying down on the grass, inside a hold in the bushes.<p>

"Okay, we gotta get bells, but there are only two of them and three of us. How is passing this test together possible?" Soramaru asked as they hid in the bushes of the training field. Katsuko, who was between Soramaru and Hikaru Laid down her head on the grass and tried thinking.

The beige haired genin frowned, "Should we split and attack head on by ourselves? By the way this idea I just suggested should be thelast thing we do. I mean look! We're fighting an elite ninja, there's no way we'll get a bell, unless we're lucky." Hikaru said lowly while keeping his eyes on Yukio. He frowned, that man was just nibbling on his lollipop!

Soramaru frowned, he didn't like that idea. It would mean someone would be left out, and that would probably have consequences. He looked back in front of him, where Yukio stood there in the middle of the field with his candy pouch. The bells dangling on the side of his waist and making a sound with every rough movement he made to unwrap another treat.

Hikaru sweat dropped, _I swear that guy is going to die from too much sugar._ He looked at Katsuko, who looked like she was sleeping since her head was laying on her arms and facing the floor. He raised an eyebrow and nudged her with his shoulder, which responded with annoyed muffled 'I'm not sleeping if that's what you're thinking!'.

Katsuko lifted her head up with a scowl, "There's gotta be a trick of some sort in this test... Let's just attack him together, after all like Hikaru said it's impossible to get a bell by ourselves since we're just genins and he's a jonin."

Soramaru nodded, "Yeah you're right. Then we'll ask what to do later."

Hikaru grinned, "Teamwork it is! No hard feelings in the end right?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

Hikaru looked up at the sky, however he squinted and looked away from the sun's light that blinded him for a moment. He frowned, "Stupid light..." He muttered, catching his teammates attentions. Katsuko jolted when an idea suddenly came to mind, it seemed that Hikaru had the same idea since they made the same sound with the same knowning expression.

"Ohh!" They whispered.

Soramaru looked at them with a confused expression. "What...?"

They both jerked their heads towards their other teammate with a mischievous smile.

Not liking their expressions one bit, Soramaru began inching away from them slowly.

* * *

><p>Katsuko and Hikaru split up from an exhausted Soramaru who stayed in the same spot. They ran into the forest in their own direction.<p>

As Katsuko made a quick slide on the grass to stop herself, she noticed that their sensei was no longer in the middle of the field anymore! Feeling anxious, she immediately looked at her teammates who realized the same thing. The three of them raced to the middle of the field and there with backs facing each other. This wasn't supposed to be happening! They were supposed to attack together!

Soramaru scanned the area before him.

Left... no, right ... no, above... no... BELOW!

Soramaru quickly looked down at the grass, the moment he laid his eyes on the ground his fighting stance faltered. His jaw dropped open, he used both hands to tap his friends' shoulders and point at the ground. When Hikaru and Katsuko looked at the floor, they had the same reaction as Soramaru.

* * *

><p>Are you kidding?! Yukio-sensei was laying right before us! How could we not see him?! He had a pile of grass on him, 'camouflaging' himself with the green grass. I sweat dropped and stared at him, he merely stared back at us. What the hell? Was that amusement I saw in his eyes?!<p>

"Oh? You saw through my ninjutsu?"

I looked at my teammates with disbelief and they both looked at me with the same expression.

Hikaru's right eye twitched.

We all took out our kunais from our pouches.

"GET HIM!" Soramaru yelled.

Along with them, I charged at Yukio-sensei with great speed. I barely saw it, but I saw him smirk in amusement. I don't know what happened, but when we tackled him, in a flurry of movements the grass flew in the air and we ended up eating dirt when something hit it us from behind, pushing us forth. I turned around on my knees to see Yukio innocently nibbling on the remnants of his lollipop.

I got up and sped towards him, Soramaru stayed back with Hikaru and made some hand signs while I distracted Yukio, I threw a punch at him and as I was about to hit him, he ended up next to me in a blink of an eye and poked my shoulder. A poke? No, not just a simple poke, a light feeling of static made contact with me again. But it was enough to make me jolt and lose my stance. Using that as an advantage. Yukio swooped his leg down and tripped me from behind.

"Ack-!"

"Hmm, that punch looked very good. If you had hit me, that _could_ of have hurt." I can tell if the tone of his voice was honest or sarcastic.

I frowned, lifted my arms and placed them behind my head to help me jump up back on my feet. As I was about to attack him again, I heard Soramaru's voice.

"Earth Style!" I quickly got out of the way by jumping and landing between Soramaru and Hikaru. Soramaru narrowed his eyes, he released his hands that were making a hand sign and slammed his palms on the ground. "Ground Rupture!"

Yukio blinked and looked down at the ground beneath him, he frowned and spat out the lollipop stick. The ground beneath him rumbled and began breaking, just in time, he jumped back very high and watched as the ground rose up high in the air. I see, Soramaru was planning to bring him in the air so we can attack in aerial style. Hikaru and I jumped up and attacked Yukio in mid air. I swung my leg downwards onto his shoulder and his forearm blocked it effortlessly, well I don't see why it was no problem. I AM just a genin. I locked my my hands together and aimed to slam them on his head, but again, he blocked it... with the same forearm!

THIS IS IMPOSSIBLEEE!

I backed off and let Hikaru take his turn. I landed more faster than the two of them, I looked at Soramaru who looked exhausted. I can't blame him, he used way too much of his chakra with that jutsu and that time when we hid together in the forest. I glanced up at the sky, the clouds were still hiding the sun from us! Come on! Move you stupid clouds!

"Fire Style: Fire Blast!" After manipulating fire into his fists with his chakra, he let out a yell and struck Yukio with both hands sending him flying to the ground.

...

...

...

Poof.

Damn it, of course it was a substitution! Now where is he?! We all ran to each other and stood in the same formation like earlier. I knelt on the ground on made a hand sign, concentrated on releasing my chakra. I closed my eyes and continued, I couldn't see but I could tell what was happening. The vicinity ten feet away from me and my teammates became cold.

* * *

><p>Hikaru and Soramaru watched from the corner of their eyes, Katsuko was in the middle of making the area around them cold enough to see their breaths. They returned to looking around them, waiting patiently for the perfect moment to strike.<p>

It only took a few seconds to see it.

A puff of breath.

"MOVE NOW!" Soramaru yelled.

Just as predicted, Yukio was charging straight at them. Soramaru and Hikaru jumped away while helping Katsuko back on her feet, they were almost a second to late from getting knocked away by him! The three of them regained their footing and spun around before Yukio had the chance too. They ran towards him and tried to grab a bell from his waist.

...

...

...

"Nah, you guys are too slow." Yukio sighed while sitting on their bodies. It happened again, he was too fast to see, They just somehow all ended up on top of each other with their jonin sitting on top of them.

"I'll admit, you displayed pretty impressive skills... I could only guess you guys trained at the Clans' barracks."

Hikaru, the one on top of the pile and the one underneath Yukio's rear, was desperately trying to reach for the bell that was just teasing him. Yukio laughed darkly and pushed his hand away with his index finger. Soramaru groaned, they were pinned down to easily... it wasn't exactly going as planned. Katsuko bit her lip, what if Yukio decided to just end the test here and now?

Katsuko stared at the grass in front of her, they would be sent back to the Academy...

...

...

...

Oh! The ground was getting lighter from the sun coming from the clouds...

The biggest smile came up on her face at the sight of it, she had never been so happy to see some sun in her life, not when she was a cold person.

"Soramaru... Hikaru... the light!"

They both jerked their heads up and looked up at the sky. Curiously, Yukio looked up as well, wondering what was the big deal with the sun. While he was looking up, he immediately got up when he heard the kids underneath him each throw a kunai at him.

"Oh? We're not done? I really thought we were done." Yukio sighed with boredom, he reached for his pouch and took out another lollipop. The three kids narrowed their eyes at their jonin, with a smirk, each of them reached for their pouch where all their ninja tools were placed. They pulled out a solid transparent object, glass.

* * *

><p><em>"Ohh!" They whispered.<em>

_Soramaru looked at them with a confused expression. "What...?"_

_They both jerked their heads towards their other teammate with a mischievous smile._

_Not liking their expressions one bit, Soramaru began inching away from them slowly. _

_"What is it... wait I don't wanna know."_

_Hikaru smirked, he stood up and laid down next to the brown haired male, and he threw an arm around Soramaru's shoulders. "Buddy-"_

_"Don't... I know it's bad..." Soramaru shrunk in his spot as Hikaru's smirk was directed at him, full intention of asking something that he didn't like. Katsuko merely chuckled and did the same thing. Soramaru shrunk under the gazes of his two teammates, they just kept inching closer with those smirks on their faces! Aw, man. He knew he wasn't going to like whatever came next._

_"Can you make some sand?"_

_Soramaru groaned lowly at their request. They only urged him to reply by poking his head none stop, when he still refused to answer their poking became more harsh that it started annoying him. He finally got fed up and smacked their hands away, "What for?!"_

_"We need glass!" Katsuko chuckled again, she removed her arm off of Soramaru and pointed at the light that was showing itself on the spot Hikaru was at few moments ago. Soramaru looked confused. he still didn't understand._

_Hikaru sighed and removed his arm as well, he pointed at Yukio who was looking through all his candy in his pouch. "Look here, see where he's at?"_

_Nod._

_Hikaru moved his finger to the places where it had sun, "If we can stay on those spots and blind him for a second just to snatch those bells, the we'd pass. We'll use glass to reflect the sunlight towards him."_

_"Ohh, I get it. But making sand his hard!"_

_"Dude, we need to do anything to pass this test."_

_Soramaru sighed heavily, "Alright. But who's going to get the bells? I mean there's gotta be at least two of us to blind him."_

_Katsuko frowned, "I'll do it. I am the fastest... After all... those games in the Academy that involved running with a lot of speed made me fast. But recently I've been slacking... but I'm still fast."_

_Hikaru scoffed and rolled his eyes, he stared her with a disapproving look. "You got so lazy because you kept hanging with Shikamaru."_

_Katsuko raised an eyebrow, she pointed a finger at him, "Are you calling him a bad influence? A bad friend?"_

_"No, being lazy was your choice-"_

_"Why do you care-!"_

_"ENOUGH!" Soramaru groaned, "This isn't the time." He took out a kunai and thrust it into the ground, startling his two teammates. _

_"Whoa! Dude sorry!"_

_"Yeah, Sora calm down!"_

_"You two are the one who needs to calm down! I'm digging the ground for sand!"_

_"Ohhhh."_

_After Soramaru used his chakra to grind to minerals in the ground to create some sand, Hikaru used his fire to heat it up. Making it look like some gluey shinning thingy, much to Katsuko fear of being near it. She didn't like playing with science. Soon enough, they all had their own pieces of glass and made Soramaru exhausted from using a lot of chakra. Right after that, they noticed that the sun was hiding behind the clouds which meant they needed to stall time in the meantime. Hikaru and Katsuko ran into other parts of the forest, in their own direction._

* * *

><p>Standing in the sun, Katsuko tossed her glass piece to Hikaru, who caught it with ease. Using Yukio's confusion as an advantage, they reflected the sun's light onto Yukio's face, much to the adult's annoyance. He shut his eyes, turned and moved away. Katsuko had already began running towards him, with a confident grin she reached for a bell. Yukio felt her fingers touch the bells, his eyes widened in realization and he quickly backed up several feet away from her. Katsuko cursed under her breath, she only manage to snatch one of the bells from his waist, she missed the second one! With narrowed her eyes, she looked back Soramaru.<p>

"Soramaru! Catch!" She tossed the bell at him, he immediately ran forth to catch it. Just in case Yukio used his godl like speed to get it back. That's when Katsuko noticed that Hikaru disappeared from his spot next to Soramaru. Where did he go?! Her eyes widened and she looked at Yukio, Hikaru was right behind him! When did he get there that fast?!

Hikaru grinned, he took out a kunai and threw at the bell's rope, that was keeping it attached to Yukio's hip. "Got it!" He reached for it as it fell towards the ground he was relieved when he felt the bell touch his finger.

...

...

...

"No you didn't."

Hikaru's eyes widened.

He was on his knees beside Yukio, his hand outstretched to catch the bell. It was indeed touching his finger, what was the problem?

Yukio's index finger and thumb were both holding the bell as it was touching Hikaru.

When did he...? No, that's not even possible...

"H-How...?!" Hikaru asked in disbelief.

Yukio gave him a close eyed smile, "This test is over."

* * *

><p>My eyes widened, wait did I hear him right...? No, no, in order to pass this test we needed two bells!<p>

I fell down on my knees, we didn't pass? But... isn't one bell good enough...? No way, I don't wanna go back to the Academy.. all we've done so far proved that we had what it takes to become a genin...! Or probably it really wasn't enough...

...

...

...

"You guys did good teamwork."

I jerked my head upwards, what was he talking about? Was he trying to make us feel less bad about failing the test? I watched as Yukio placed the bell inside of his pocket and stuck his hand out for Hikaru. He hesitantly reached for his hand and got up without a problem, Yukio guided him back towards me Soramaru.

"I can see that you guys got what it takes for being a ninja." He said with a smile, Soramaru and Hikaru sat next to me as he explained, "You three knew that it was impossible to get a bell from me on your own, so you decided on relying on teamwork to get them, putting aside the problem of two bells and just coming at me. However, the 'asking what to do part' did give me laughs." He chuckled while looking at me with a sly smirk.

My eyes widened, "H-How did you know... I said that?" I asked nervously, wait nervous. Shoot, chill chill, calm down! I don't want any stingy hives at the moment!

"Oh~! That's a secret."

I looked at Hikaru and Soramaru who held the exact same baffled expression.

"This was the reason why we made you into a three man squad. If you could come at me as a squad and putting the bells aside it proves that you three had chosen the right decision. However, if you had decided to come at me on your own by yourselves and not as a team, then you would have made the wrong decision and would have failed the test. After all, when ninja put themselves above the team there's a very good chance of failure and death during missions."

"Eh, well yeah. That does make sense. One screw up of a team member might jeopardize the mission, all personal differences must be set aside for the sake of the mission." Hikaru said while staring at the sky. Yukio hummed in agreement and started taking out _another_ lollipop, geez relax on that sugar!

I nodded in agreement, "I agree... Although, if a teammate is in real danger.. like I don't hostage? Or something even more worse than that... shouldn't we abandon the mission."

Yukio seemed to have been surprised, since stopped unwrapping his lollipop. But his expression was neutral, we all watched him carefully. I probably shouldn't have said that...

"I can see that you're the kind of person who won't abandon her comrades. I like that." Yukio gave me a close eyed smile and poked my nose.

"Well she's not the only one." Soramaru laughed, and threw an arm around me. I let out a yelp of surprise and then I let out another once Hikaru did the same thing. "Leaving comrades behind the most heartless thing to do. We'd all prefer to come back with everyone we had from the start." Hikaru grinned while looking at me. I could only smile bashfully. That's when I remembered what Yukio had told us yesterday during the introductions.

"Um, Yukio-sensei?"

"Hmm?" He pulled out his lollipop.

"You said you hated two types of people... I'm actually curious about what kind they are..."

Hikaru's eyes widened, "That's right!"

Soramaru folded his arms, "You said you would tell us when we would pass our test!"

Yukio waved his lollipop stick with a carefree smile and laughed, "Oh? You're still curious? I would have thought you wouldn't be interested in that~!"

We just kept staring at him.

"Haha since you three are so cute I will tell you. _The first type is the ones who would act foolishly for the sake of another knowing full well it isn't right. The second type is the ones who would do a selfish sacrifice and I guess abandoning comrades also falls into that category._"

The three of us blinked in surprise.. wow...

Was it just me or was he speaking from personal experience?

"Alright kids! Since Squad Eleven has passed their test, why don't I treat you guys to some cake~!"

...

...

...

_What?_

* * *

><p><strong>Wait for the next chapter won't be so long since it's almost done!<strong>

**Please tell me what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5: Upcoming Chunin Exams!

**HELLO AGAIN READERS!**

**Like I said in the last chapter the wait wasn't too long!**

**I Do Not Own Naruto, only meh OCs Katsuko Igarashi, Hikaru Shirokawa, Soramaru Natsui and Yukio Orihara.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>25th day of June...<span>**

It's been weeks since that test. I haven't had that much time like before during the Academy days to hang and talk with Shikamaru and the others. But that's understandable, I should have seen this coming. But anyway, everything went well with our new jonin Yukio Orihara. The man was such a carefree person who was almost never serious, except for when it really called for it. He's really good at helping us train though! He would occasionally poke me on the nose, much to my bewilderment. However, there were times on missions where he gave off the impression he was dangerous and sinister during those C-rank missions which I found out was pretty normal. How? Well, during one of Kakashi's mail visits we had a conversation about how things were going on so far.

* * *

><p><em>I walked into my house and set down the mail on the coffee table in the living room.<em>

_"So, how are things with Yukio?" Kakashi asked casually._

_I turned around to look at Kakashi, who welcomed himself inside the house after closing the door. Well, it was raining that day. I WAS going to ask him if he wanted to come in, but I guess he read my mind._

_"Ah... It's alright... But..."_

_"Let me guess, he gave you the feeling he was sinister and dangerous?"_

_My eyes widened, I leaned my head back in surprise. "How did you know?"_

_He merely smiled under that mask of his, oh how I wanted to know how he looked like under there! "I've known Yukio for a long time. And I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about, he's always been like that."_

_My face relaxed, I stuffed my hands in my blue long sleeved sweater pockets. "Okay... Alright."_

_"Well, I've done what I came here for. Tell your mother I said 'Hi' and don't start getting lazy on your training, those words come from your mother." He said before opening my front door._

_I flinched, "She told you stuff about me being lazy?!" I whipped around._

_He was already gone._

* * *

><p>Plus as obvious as it was, the man had a weak spot for candy. He never came on a mission without his candy pouch filled with sweet treats. He would sometimes offer us some candy during those missions. So far, he made us go on ten missions... that's a lot right? His sweet addiction is crazy, on our last mission a lady running a bakery on the way home offered them some cake and told us we weren't obligated to finish everything. After Hikaru, Soramaru and I took our fair share, Yukio-sensei ate the rest like as if it was one of those small sandwiches I used to eat!<p>

Speaking of our recent mission... That crap mission made me sore everywhere. Stupid C-rank where we had to be bodyguards for this stupid spoiled rich kid along with his older brother! They made us move so damn much! Gah, when I woke up this morning I realized it was a beautiful day... Until I started moving... Stupid sore body. No, this is that damn mission's fault along with those brats!

Now I had to suck it up...

* * *

><p>"Good morning mommy!" I greeted as yawned my way to the kitchen.<p>

"Good morning." She greeted back while reaching down for the cabinet under the counter.

I sat down at the table and laid my head down on the surface with a bored expression. "Mooommyyyy I'm hungry, when do we eat...?" I whined like a child.

"Soon, don't worry. I'm making eggs."

"Yippe."

That's when I remembered about the trip to the Sand. Every two years, this year is the year. I'm just curious about when we will be going... I wonder if it will be canceled due to the fact I just recently became a ninja and can't just suddenly skip out on a nearly two month vacation...

"Mom, when are we going to the Sand Village?"

"I don't know yet, probably when the Chunin Exams are over. Then we'll see what we'll do." She said while taking the eggs from the fridge.

"Oh I see- wait what?"

"What?" My mother cracked the eggs.

"Chunin what?"

"Chunin Exams." She repeated, and the sizzling of eggs began as she dropped them on the pan.

"Already?"

A test to promote genins to chunins? It's happening soon? I wonder... does the jonins in charge of a genin squad have to recommend them for the exams or is it the other way around...? If it's the jonins who do it, I wonder if Yukio-sensei thinks we have what it takes to enter these exams...

* * *

><p><span><strong>Upcoming Chunin Exams!<strong>

* * *

><p>And like any other day when I've got nothing to do, I stay home in my room and do whatever I'm in the mood to do to feed my boredom. My mother already left for work, same goes for my dad and right now I'm home alone.<p>

I'm too lazy to go outside right now... I just wanna sleep and-

**_DING DONG!_**

I frowned, who the hell could that be? I don't recall my parents saying there was someone who was going to come by. Hell, I don't remember asking friends to come over. Unless... It's Kakashi again. With a heavy sigh, I rolled out of bed, nearly falling off of it while I was at it. I left my room and headed to the front door, grabbing my sweater on the way out. I slipped it on me and covered my head, it was kinda messy. I opened the front door and prepared myself to see whoever was behind it.

...

...

...

"What's up?"

I blinked in surprise, what is he doing here?

"Hikaru? What's going on? What are you doing here?"

He merely grinned, "I came to get you out of here! You ain't stayin' home this time."

I narrowed my eyes at my teammate, I crossed my arms and moved out of the way so he could enter. "We don't have a mission. Plus my body is sore."

Hikaru shrugged, he strode into my living room and started taking some candy from the bowl that was on the table. "I don't care, you're getting out now."

I sighed again, but then smiled. "Alright, let me just get ready."

"Okay, I'll just stay here and eat candy."

"Yeah, yeah."

As I shut my door, the smile was still present on my face. Hikaru knows why I stay at home during days off. I stay home because sometimes I can't seem to make plans to hang out with friends. But when I do, they always seem to cancel, I never get angry or disappointed because I understand they might be busy. Now that they have less time for that, my teammates are the only friends I got who I'll be seeing more of... I quickly got dressed into my regular attire and when I opened my door, I paused because my stomach growled. I checked the time in the hallway, it was already lunch time. I swiftly grabbed my wallet from my desk and left my room.

When I returned to the living room, I found Hikaru looking at a picture frame. Curious at which photo he was looking at, I made my presence known by purposely tapping my feet on the wooden a little louder. Hikaru glanced back at me, one cheek curved because of a sweet treat in his mouth. "Oh, you're done?"

I nodded and stopped next to him, "Which photo are you looking at?"

Hikaru lifted up to me.

Oh. It was the one with me and Gaara in it.

"That's the Sand Village right? But who's the kid?" Hikaru asked curiously while pointing at Gaara's shy face that held a bashful smile. "Is he one of your cousins from your dad's side?"

I laughed and shook my head, "Haha, not even close. No one in my dad's side has red hair, let alone those panda eyes."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow, once I turned around to head to the front door. I heard him set down the frame and follow me. I knelt down and began putting on my shoes as he waited while leaning on the door. Gaara huh? I wonder if there are more pictures of him somewhere at home... I mean every time we go there we take photos. The reason why I visit the Sand Village every two years? That's because my father comes from there and my parents decided that every two years we should pay a visit to them. Same goes for Soramaru and Hikaru. We all have a parent that used to reside in the Sand Village. Soramaru's dad came from the Sand like my dad but Hikaru's mom was the one who came from the Sand. We were raised in the Leaf Village because our clans came from here and it would be best to live here if we grew up as ninja (which we did) since it would help out our skills.

After putting on my black and blue sandals, I stood up and brushed my pants with one hand. I grabbed my wallet and reached for the doorknob only to grab nothing. I looked up, Hikaru had already opened it seeing as I was already done. I smirked at him and went outside while shutting the door behind me.

"Hey, I'm hungry. Do you wanna eat at Ichiraku? I'll pay, I've got cash see?"

"Sure, I didn't eat lunch yet anyway. I'll pay you back."

"You don't have to." I locked my front door and started walking with Hikaru next to me.

"No, I need to."

"Hikaru, you don't have to."

"Yo, I need to-"

"Okay, let's no start arguing over that."

* * *

><p>After eating at Ichiraku's Hikaru and I just decided wander around the village and talk. No problem for me, I get to bond with a friend! We walked around slowly for probably about thirty minutes. We even went to go see Izumo and Kotetsu at the gates, to sit for a while and talk. My stomach tends to hurt if I move too much after eating a lot. Yeah, I eat a lot at Ichiraku, but not as much as Naruto who eats like what? Five bowls or something? But what's weird is that, no matter how much I eat my figure stays the same... It's weird. Like during the Academy days I used to eat a little on the weekdays but then when I'm at home during the weekends, I eat whenever I got bored. Which happened often.<p>

I grinned at him happily, "You know, I think we are the only squad that has a day off."

Hikaru looked at me funny and then shook his head, "No, we gotta head to the barracks. Yukio-sensei wants us to meet up there."

I stopped in my tracks and stared at him in disbelief, and here I thought I was free from training and missions with my sore body... "Are you kidding? More training then...?!"

Hikaru grinned, "Yep, he told us yesterday, you probably didn't hear."

"Oh, that's just fantastic." I spat sarcastically before crossing my arms in frustration.

We walked in the streets of the Leaf Village. In hopes of finding something entertaining to do, to pass the time. We weren't finding much in these regular streets, I guess all we could do is talk and walk around...

That is until we heard a commotion on a certain street just around the corner...

* * *

><p>Hikaru and Katsuko looked at each other curiously before calmly walking to the source of the commotion. They turned around the corner and stopped at the sight. Naruto and Sakura along with some academy students were staring at someone. This someone had that kid Konohamaru up in the air by lifting him up by the front of his shirt and scarf. He was wearing a black baggy jumpsuit that had this weird circle thing, on one side of the circle was yellow and the other was maroon. He had black finger less gloves... Wait was that a black hat with cat ears... And purple face paint? He was also carrying this thing on his back, but you couldn't see what since it was wrapped up in bandages.<p>

But the thing that caught their attention the most, was the headband on his hat. It wasn't the Leaf's headband, it was a Sand's.

Hikaru and Katsuko blinked. A sand ninja? They looked at the blonde haired girl behind the guy, her headband was on the same place as Katsuko's. She was dressed in a light pink shirt dress that stopped about mid thigh with ninja mesh up to her neck. A red sash was tied around her waist and her back carried this huge black rectangular object.

What are two sand ninjas doing in the leaf? And why is one of the bulling a kid?

...

...

...

"So Hikaru, any of those one of your cousins from the Sand?"

"No, what the hell."

Snicker.

They walked towards the small crowd and witnessed Naruto run straight at the guy. Hikaru then noticed the guy dressed in black slightly move his index and ring finger, sending Naruto flying back to where he was before. The beige haired genin narrowed his eyes as they kept approaching them. Katsuko stifled a laugh as the leaf village's knucklehead landed on the floor with an expression of disbelief and confusion.

"What the...?! What was that?!"

"You're a leaf genin too? Looks like your village's full of wimps."

Katsuko and Hikaru stood behind Sakura and merely watched with an offended expression as Naruto opened his mouth and began threatening the Sand ninja. Making Sakura quickly throw her arm around his neck and locking him there while he choked. The two members of Squad Eleven started chuckling behind them, catching the two Sand ninjas' attentions.

"Making threats isn't going to help Naruto!"

The man frowned at the sight of two more genin, "You're annoying, all of you. I don't like runts or any other scrawny weaklings. So when a wimp like this starts shooting off its mouth..." He tightened his hold on Konohamaru making the kid yelp, "I just wanna break him in half."

Katsuko frowned, she leaned towards Hikaru and whispered in his ear. "Don't you think we should do something?"

Hikaru glanced at her his light blue eyes before sighing heavily. They normally didn't get involved with stuff like this,but since it was starting to look bad... They kinda needed to now, "Alright..."

As they each took a step forward to interfere once the guy pulled back him arm to strike Konohamaru, a rock was thrown towards the guy's wrist making him drop Konohamaru.

* * *

><p>I looked at guy who was holding up Konohamaru just a second ago the at the rock that hit him. Slowly Hikaru and I robotically moved our heads towards the person who pitched it. We both scowled at the sight of the person in the tree, Sasuke. Suddenly, Sakura squealed his name making both of us cover our ears. What's so special about him? He's just an arrogant kid who thinks he's above everyone else... Although, I do feel bad for him. He's teamed up with a fan girl like Sakura... If only she got rid of her obsession with him I would try to befriend her. I just can't stand squealing fangirls, befriending Ino was hard enough.<p>

All the attention was directed to the only Uchiha alive.

"Hey punk, get down here." He demanded. "You're the kind of pesky little snot I hate the most, all attitude and nothin' to back it up." I looked at him and saw him pull on one of the straps that helped him carry the thing on his back. Even though I sensed some fighting coming up, I couldn't help but encourage Sasuke to continue provoking him in my head, since my curiosity was directed to that thing on his back. I wanted to know what was in there, just like when I really wanna see what's under Kakashi's mask. The male Sand ninja slammed down the object as he glared at Sasuke.

The female Sand ninja looked at him in disblelief, "What?! Are you going to use the Crow for this?"

Crow...? He's... got a giant bird in there?

"Kankuro, back off."

Everyone looked up at the sound of the voice.

"You're an embarrassment to our village."

Katsuko's eyes widened and so did Hikaru's. A red headed boy was in the same tree as Sasuke, except he was upside down. How he got there was a mystery since nobody sensed him at all. Hell how long has he been standing there?! He wore full black jumpsuit with t-shirt sleeves, length that wasn't too long and an open neck. He was also wearing a white sash over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips. On his back he carried a gourd with the help of a wide brown leather band that went to his left shoulder to the right side of his hips. And on that leather band was a black forehead protector wrapped around it, with the sand village symbol. But what caught the two Squad Eleven members' attention was the two noticeable traits on his face. First, the character on the left side on his forehead, the character that meant 'love', his red forelocks that parted to the left made it more visible. Second, his eyes, the black rings around his blue-green eyes.

The red hair and the black rings around his eyes was enough to bring back the memory of the photo in Katsuko's house. The picture of the shy little boy, was now standing in front of them with an older appearance, except it wasn't a shy look he had but something completely different... something dangerous.

Kankuro immediately froze, "U-Uh hey Gaara."

...

...

...

Holy. shit. Katsuko thought, did I jinx this?! She couldn't believe what she was seeing! Gaara. That kid she met at the Sand Village, he was standing right there! Hold up, Katsuko narrowed her eyes at the sand ninjas, why are they here...? They couldn't just waltzed into another village like that even if the leaf and sand were allies. What was the reason...?

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?"

Reason. So they _did_ have reason.

"Uh... I know. I, I-I mean they challenged us! Heh, they started the whole thing really! See here's what happened-" Kankuro stammered as he tried explaining.

"Shut up." Gaara cut him off with clear anger in his voice. Kankuro started getting nervous, you could even see sweat on his face. "Or I'll kill you."

"Uh right. I was totally out of line." Kankuro stammered, "I'm sorry Gaara. I was totally out of line." He repeated with his hands up in front of him in an apologetic manner.

Gaara turned his head to at the group who was looking at him without a word. "I'm sorry, for any trouble he caused."

Katsuko eyes widened a little once she made eye contact with him.

_Damn, ... that voice._ Katsuko averted her eyes and looked at the ground. Just listening to it made her feel like he was dangerous. Hikaru narrowed his eyes once Gaara vanished in sand and appeared in front of the two sand ninja. Taking that as a cue to leave, he looked at Katsuko and nudged her arm.

"Come on, let's go already."

"Uh... Um, right."

They both walked past the sand ninjas, who were walking in the same way.

"Hold on! Hey!" Sakura called after them.

Getting curious again, Hikaru and Katsuko stopped and looked back. Only to face the sand ninjas behind them, they had stopped walking too after Sakura spoke up.

"What?" The girl with the fan asked.

"I can tell from your headband that you come from the Village Hidden in the Sand! Of course the land of fire and the land of wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another's village without permission! So state your purpose and it better be good!"

Katsuko stuffed her hands in her pocket, she focused on Sakura and pretended to not even see the sand ninjas before her. They didn't look any older than they did... They all turned around to look at Sakura.

The woman of the sand trio was the one to reply, "Really? Have you guys all been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on do you?" She lifted up the proof of her permitted entry. "We have permission. Of course you're correct we are Hidden Sand genin our home is the land of the wind."

Now this made sense, this time Katsuko spoke up. Even though she felt so nervous to do so, "You said genin?" Oh perfect, everyone was looking at her. Ah well, might as well continue what she was saying. "By any chance, are you here for the Chunin Exams?"

"It's seven days from now right?" Hikaru chimed in.

Temari smirked, "That's right. I'm glad there's at least some people that know what's going on."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, "The Chunin Exams? What's that?"

Katsuko and Hikaru frowned, man what the hell Naruto? "Naruto, you don't even know that?"

"Katsuko let's go, we're going to be late."

"Do I have to? You know my body is sore..."

"Yeah, now come on." Hikaru already started walking ahead of her. Katsuko dragged her feet as the walked in the direction of the barracks, while complaining.

Unknown to them a certain sand ninja puppeteer was watching them, watching the raven haired girl.

* * *

><p>After that whole ordeal with Leaf genins. Gaara, Kankuro and Temari went straight to the hotel and got themselves rooms for their stay at the Leaf. Without a word to his siblings, Gaara shut himself in his room. Temari sat down her giant fan on the side of the wall and noticed, after she glanced over her shoulder, her brother Kankuro had a thoughtful look on his face as he walked towards the window.<p>

Temari straightened up and put her hands on her hips, "Kankuro, what's the matter?"

The ninja puppeteer jerked his head up and looked at his older sister. "Oh, uh it's nothing."

Temari quirked an eyebrow. Even though she wasn't fully convinced, she left him alone and went to the bathroom. Leaving Kankuro to think about the girl he saw today.

_Katsuko... her face. Both her name and face tells me I've met her somewhere before..._

* * *

><p>"I have summoned you for a very important purpose." The Third Hokage, also known as Hiruzen Sarutobi, said to all the jonins who gathered in front of him. "Seeing your fellow jonin here, I'm sure you realize what this is about."<p>

"I take it all the other lands have been notified about the coming event." Asuma, the leader of Squad Ten said with a cigarette in between his lips. He tipped his head and looked up, "I noticed some of their genin have already arrived here in the village."

"And? When do we start?" Kurenai, leader of Squad Eight asked.

"We will begin in one week."

"That's pretty short notice." Kakashi chimed in.

Yukio chuckled behind his hand. "Indeed."

"Take heed, exactly seven days from today, on the first day of July. The genin will be gathered and tested, only the very best will be selected as chunin. Now, it's time we choose our candidates for our chunin examinations. To begin, those in charge of the rookie genins step forward."

As told, the four jonins stepped forward together.

"Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and Yukio. What do you say? Are there any in your squads you'd recommend? Who are ready for the chunin Exams, despite their inexperience? As you know any genin who has carried out eight or missions is technically eligible for the examinations. Beyond that only you can decide when they are ready, of course most genin require a much longer training period at least twice that many missions." After a pause, The Third Hokage asked that Kakashi may begin recommending any of his squad's genins.

Making a fist with his index and middle finger pointed upwards, Kakashi spoke and recommended all his students. Just as Kurenai, Asuma and Yukio did after him. Much to all the jonins' in he room's shock, they couldn't believe they would recommend all the rookies whom were fresh out of the Academy to the chunin Exams, all of them were saying it was way to soon for them.

However, as all the names of the twelve rookie genins have been said by the four jonins. A certain teacher from the Academy protested their decisions.

Yukio, who was standing next to Asuma tilted his head at the sight of Iruka objecting. His left purple eye was covered once he tipped his head, he narrowed his eyes at Iruka. The lollipop in his mouth was forcefully crushed into bits as he listened to more protests that came from the chunin's mouth.

* * *

><p>I entered one of the spare rooms in the Igarashi area inside of the barracks. The room I entered was the one I usually stay in when I come here. Soramaru and Hikaru went off to spar somewhere while waiting for Yukio-sensei. So far, it was only the three of us in here. I looked around the room, it looked a no one used this place recently. People probably don't use it as much as I do. With a sigh, I slowly let my fall on the bed. Resting my sore body on the softness of the mattress. I covered my eyes with my arm and thought about the encounter this afternoon.<p>

I have a feeling... this won't be the last time I'll see him... Like it's merely a prologue to things to come...

I chuckled to myself and rolled onto my stomach, "That is if we get to join the Chunin Exams... We _probably_ can't join since we're all still new to this."

Just then I heard Soramaru enter the room with a excited laugh. I sighed once again, I turned my head to look at him. "What?"

He grinned at me, "Yukio-sensei's here! He says he's got good news to tell us! Come on!" And with that he left, the sound of his foot steps became fainter as he left the Igarashi area.

With a troubled look, I slowly got up and went to where the guys were. I wonder what's so important...

* * *

><p>"So, long story short. You've all been recommended to enter the Chunin Exams by yours truly~!" Yukio-sensei said with a carefree smile.<p>

I almost fell over.

Yukio pulled out three forums from his back pocket, he held them between his index and middle finger then tossed it to us, which we caught we ease. It turned out to be an application forum. I flipped the paper to see if there was anything behind written on it. Yukio-sensei explained that joining these exams would be up to us and if we didn't want to, there was always next year.

"So this is still _our_ decision right?" Soramaru asked just to be sure.

"Yes, my recommendation was only the first step. The next step is up to you." He pointed at us with a small grin.

I frowned, "Seems like a hassle... Plus I think I jinxed it again." I mumbled then cursed under my breath.

Yukio laughed and skipped over to me, he poked my nose. "Now, now, no foul language~!"

Hikaru looked at me, "What do you mean 'jinxed it again?'"

I blinked and looked at him while pushing away the finger in my face, "You heard?"

"Answer the question." He said with a curious expression.

I shrugged and put away the forum in my pocket, "I thought I wouldn't meet Gaara... I did. I thought we couldn't join these exams since we're still fresh out of the Academy... but we got recommended."

Soramaru looked at me, "Who's Gaara?"

I tilted my head and looked at the corner of the room, "Some kid I was friends with in the Sand..." Although judging by that look he had on his face he probably didn't want to be friends again... _or_ he probably didn't recognize me. It has been six long years... I wonder what would happen if I tried to approach him? Wait... no, no bad idea! I'm too damn shy.

Hikaru smirked, "Hey, say 'our team will be the only one who won't pass'." At the sound of his voice, I pulled away from my inner thoughts.

I rolled my eyes and aimed to flick his forehead, he only backed away and widened his smirk. "It doesn't work that way, idiot." I stuck my tongue out.

"Worth a try, we could use luck."

Yukio clapped his hands, "Alright! Enough jinxing things!" He said happily while closing off the subject of jinx. "Let's talk more about the Chunin Exam, shall we?"

So... seven days from now, Chunin Exams will take place in the village Hidden in the Leaves... Gathering many genins from different villages to participate. And since we're just rookies, this could be difficult if those other genins are more experienced...

Oh, well.

* * *

><p><strong>Yaaaay! Chunin Exams! One of my favorite arcs~!<strong>

**A review would be nice to know what you guys think! Please!**


End file.
